Vintage destemming and pressing machine



Aug. 9, 1949.

as. BLACHERE VINTAGE DESTEMMING AND PRESSING MACHINE Filed. NOV. 9, 1948 I Qrwvwkw maze fi'whrs'fihakeng,

@LW PM.

ATTOR N EY Patented Aug. 9, 1949 VINTAGE *DES IEMMING 'A'NDfPRESSING V MACHINE -,Emile GustavmBlachere, Hussein-Bey, Algiers, Algeria Applioation Noveni-ber 9,-1-94 -8,"S-efial No. 59,1 10

, .In France April -'I6,' 1-'947 .2 Claims.

.The present invention {relates generally-to a machine which .is designed to :receive the grape ,vintage and to deliver the must derived :from

the *nintage to the fermentation =vats.

-Sme wineries employ .a must which ;is :f-ree .of all stems .and stalks, -vvhile eother Wineries inelude the :stems and stalks ,in the must. When arlear :or :white wine is being made, it J's-reenerally-desirable to eliminate thezstems rand stalks girom the must. On the .other hand, where a med .wine is :being :made it .is often desirable to .in- ,clude the stems and stalks in the must. In these wines the rfermentation process, in addition to color, also derives other ingredients from the .stems and stalks which give :the wine a desirable .body and flavor. r

The present invention provides a machine which may .be employed in either of these processes-as desired. ;Thus the machine may lbfi sem- ,ploy,ed for cle stemm-ing the vintage, separatin the stems and stal-ks, and subjecting the ;-grapes to ,a pressing or crushing eperationrand vfeeding the pressed grapes, including .the ,-jnioe,- and skins tree of stalks :and stems to the -termentation M81]. The same machine may also lee employed J01 crushing and pressing the vintage, including time grapes, .stems and stalks and deliverin this .crushed or pressed mixtrureto the fermentation V V grapes with the consequent ;production:z0fg:1:ane

juice.

Before the must leaves the machine the vintage is subjected to a further crushing and pressing operation which completes the pressing desirable for the production of a suitable must which is delivered to the fermentation vats.

Intermediate the two crushing operations the stems and stalks may be separated from the crushed vintage and expelled fromthe machine.

If desired this separation and expulsion ofgthe stems.,-and stalks may be obviated and the vintage :then flows :from..the first treatment to the last treatment and the must delivered to the fermentation vats then contains the stalks and stems as wellas the juice and crushed grapes.

In the drawings, which are illustrative of the present invention, variations thereof falling within the scope of the appended claims being ap- 2 aiertical sectional wiew tor the :amiaratus :and u's'a ihnri'zontal sectional aziewztaken in dined-12 mi .Eig. 1. V V r apparatus :constitntirrgrthe present :imienition "is ;a. integral unit rugged and :simple in construction. The vintage, the zform ref :grapie aclustersras harvested, subjected zto :lilows -=amd impacts hi; :a series of p'adtlles which zeilso .iproiect ethe clusters thy .zcentrifu'gal 'forceiae-alnst ,itihB XVHSHS :of @the srecei ing massage. The grapes are also eat ithessarne zsirbiected .to pressure rhetweenzthe :andthe walhof thepassage. .-Dnring treatment the stems and :stalks rare udetenhed'.cfrom Lthe, -grapes, :and the :grapes are also subjected to considerable crushing andtpress- :mg th'e :sesultant sfohmation "of juice.

.At-ter deawing izthe zreceivinmnd dmstemming massage "the-vintage fist-subjected its air itlotaltion pr snctiomso that :the stalks and :stems :are drawn upwardly iromsthe crushedrgr'apes :andalis'charged :Erom Tithe apparatus while the Juices :gfiow so ."the svat and time crushed grapes pass to the second :mIdfmalcrushing-orqmessing operation.

The amt-er gcylmder il or the present apparatus is :proti'ded s i'ithzatcmzer 5E5 havingza lateral .tfeed hopper zlifi sfor needing the Evil-1728? into the rapper :of the :zcentral reminder .8. tithe motor 41 mounted 1013 top {of :the power 4'5. rotates iii-he shaft 59 rsupportedsait its .ends inthe .couerelzS and in the hottomiflllofitheccylinder 'The botmrovided withzanzannularcharmel 3 all-av- .finaflllltlt d ll.

cylinder 58 constitutes :a receiving anddl'estemming rp assage :an'zl extet-Ids downwardly into ithe .eylinder :l :and its open lower end'its spaced ifrom theYbo'ttom as shown; This cylinder znnder'ssomevccnditions loe perforated but it is preferred that :it should be imperlorate flout :made not rough plate which is provided with a multiplicity of knoblike protu'berances. This form prevents the possibility of clogging the eylrlntlers 8 something 'w hich may happen when the cylinder is perforated by reason of thefiact that pieces of stem or stalk catch in the perforations and-may remain lodgedtherein.

I -he lather or shaft 9 passes lengthwise and concentrically -of the cylinder and carries ase'ries of'padd'les l t. These paddlcsac'tupon theincoming vintage primarily to detach the grapes from the stems and staiks, and serve also to subject the grapes tea pressing and crushing operation. This is aocomplishedbythe violent and repeatedimpact of the successive paddles against "the grapes, the latter being thereby thrown against the rough surfaces of thecylinderii. The mass is eitt'he same time laeing trotatedwithin "the cylinder and subjected to pressure between the paddles and the cylinder. As a result of the action of the paddles ID the grapes are detached from the stems parent to persons skilled inthe art, Fig. 1 is a 60 and stalks, and the grapes are crushed and pressed. This mixture of crushed grapes and brokenstems and stalks is delivered by the cylinder 8 and its paddles it to the rotating disc l2.

The disc [2 is carried by th shaft 9 and rotates therewith. A plurality of paddles I3 are carried by the rotating disc 12. The paddles [3 are disposed in the channel 3 and as will be seen later, act upon the crushed grapes to subject the same to further pressing and crushing.

The cylinder 5 is of perforated metal or of open lattice Work. The perforations or openings in the lattice work permit the juice to pass through and are of a size permitting the crushed grapes to pass but holding back the broken stems and stalks. At its lower end the cylinder 5 has openings which are provided with doors H' of the same perforated sheet metal or open lattice work metal as the cylinder. 5. The doors Il may be hinged so that they may be moved to open position or if desired they may be slid in guides 30 to the open position.

The disc 12 carries the inclined vanes 6 which are held together to form a relatively rigid construction by the annular plate 22. The vanes 6 are rotated together with the disc 12, serve to rake and. stir up the mixture of crushed grapes and broken stalks and stems and to create an air draft which draws the stalks and stems upwardly and are expelled from the apparatus through the \outlet 4.

The cylinder I of solid metal plate, is disposed between the cylinders 5 and 8 and serves to constrict the space at the upper end of the vanes 6 and thus cause an increase in the speed of the air in the upper part of the chamber.

The flotation and expulsion of the stalks and stems takes place only when the doors II are closed as shown in the drawings. Under this condition the mixture of crushed grapes and stems and stalks is delivered by the cylinder 8 to the rotating disc l2. The mixture is thrown by centrifugal forc against the cylinder 5 and the juice and crushed grapes pass through the cylinder and into the channel 3. The vanes 6 at the same time create a suction which continuously dries the stalks and stems and draws the same upwardly and outwardly through the mass outward and through the openings in cylinder 5 by centrifugal force. The rotating vanes 6 aid in the expulsion of the mass from the cylinder 5 and into the channel 3 by their stirring action which eliminates the possibility of any packing of any part of the mass.

Thus when the doors II are open the vintage is subjected to the two successive pressing and crushing treatments. In the first treatment the grapes and stems are detached and both are subjected to a crushing and pressing by the action of the blades I0 in and against the cylinder 8. The stems and stalks will not be removed from the mass and instead the grapes and the 4 stems and stalks all together will be fed with channel 3 Where the mass is againsubjected to further pressing and crushing and delivered to the vats through the outlet I4 and aided by a suitable pump.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for the preparation of a grape must from a vintage, comprising an outer casing having in its upper portion an inlet for the vintage, an outlet for the must in its lower portion, and a second outlet in an intermediate portion; a foraminous cylinder disposed vertically within the casing having a passage in communication with the second outlet and having at least one opening adjacent its lower end; a foraminous closure for said opening having open and closed positions; means disposed within the cylinder for separating the woody material of the Vintage from the grapes and for crushing the grapes; a rotatable bottom for the cylinder; and impeller means carried by the bottom and rotatable therewith to pass the crushed grapes through the cylinder, the woody material being held back by the cylinder when the closure is in the closed position and being expelled through the second outlet by the impellers, thereby producing a must substantially free of woody material; the apparatus also serving, with the closure -in open position, to produce a must containing Woody material by the expulsion through said opening of Woody material with the crushed grapes.

2. An apparatus for the preparation of a grape must from a vintag comprising a casing having a must outlet and a second outlet; a foraminous cylinder disposed within the casing having a passage in communication with the second outlet and having at least one opening adjacent its lower end; a foraminous closure for the opening y having open and closed positions; means for separating the woody material of the vintage from the grapes and for crushing the grapes; a rotatable bottom for the cylinder; impeller means carried by the bottom on its upper fac and disposed within the cylinder and rotatable therewith to pass the crushed grapes through the cylinder, the woody material being held back by the cylinder with the closure in closed position, and expelled by the impellers through the second outlet thereby producing a must substantially free of woody material; the apparatus also serving, with the closure in open position, to produce a must containing woody material by the expulsion through said opening of woody material with the crushed grapes; and blades carried by the lower face of the bottom for impelling the must to the must outlet.

EMILE GUSTAVE BLACHERE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are or" record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Dec. 10, 1933 

